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Dennis the Menace Park
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
40 reviews for Dennis the Menace Park
Met up at Dennis the Menace park today with another mom so our kids could do the playdate thing. But before we gave the kids permission to run off and play in the park, we had to order our favorite foods from the snack bar.
Between the four of us we ordered extra cheesy nachos w/ jalapenos, corndogs and a single cheeseburger which came to roughly $14 bucks. The nachos were wonderful, with oozing cheese coverning every chip. After we chowed down, we sought shade and let the kids have fun in the park.
Come here to unwind, let yourself be a kid and let the kids run around to explore. There is only one way in and one way out. Bathrooms are located just outside the entrance to the right. Handicap parking is available too.
Don't forget to try the Dennis Burger!
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Love it!
All kinds of fun stuff to do at this park for kids of all ages. Multiple play structures, rock climbing, an actual train to climb on, swings, and you have the option to choose sand free or sandy lots to play in. If you are fan of slides they have a wide variety to choose from! Long and windy, short and straight, slides made out of rollers, plastic and metal. I could go on and on about this place. It's nice to bring my daughter to the same park my husband grew up playing at.
When you are done playing they have a snack stand nearby and plenty of ducks and geese to keep your little ones busy.
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Great park for kids. Very close to the beach, so you get a nice breeze. There are lots of things for the kids to do there.
I think the only drawback was that because of the sheer size and number of things for kids to do there were a TON of kids there. If you can find a quieter time to go, it might be better. Just be prepared for an army of kids to overrun you when you go.
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This is one of the best parks in America. Your kids will love it.
BEST PARK EVER!!! I wish there's one closer to the bay area.
The slides are interesting and my kids are crazy about them.
The park is not so big where you can lose sight of your kids but there are enough interesting play structures that the kids can be occupied for hours. They had to be dragged out to go eat lunch.
The park gets packed around 11 but how can it not being the best park ever.
parking is horrible that's about the only negative thing I have to say about this place.
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This place is R to the A to the D. I had to dust that one off from the late 80's for ya' just to express its awesomeness. I am sure on weekends it packs up but when I last visited (many moons ago!), I even got in an uninterrupted photo shoot in the cool tunnel thing and cute little bridge with interesting artsy sides. If I had been with a kid I KNOW they would have been stoked but even we pseudo-adults had a blast! ;)
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Since this place has such ratings I decided to take the kiddies here. It's such a cool place, I was actually surprised that they don't charge to get in, considering how everybody is charging for just about everything nowadays. Parking was a bit difficult.
The kids had a great time and I found a $20 bill!!
Awesome :D
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Man this place sure does bring back memories of my childhood years. Running around like an idiot without a care in the world, laughing so hard that you cant breathe, countless hours of hide and seek...good times man. I had the best hiding spots...too bad i cant freakin fit in them anymore!!!
It certainly does bring back nostalgic memories whenever I drive by this place...someday I'll bring my kids here...OH GOD I MIGHT BE A DAD SOMEDAY AWWWWWW!!!!!
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I wish I wore tennis shoes!
The bf made a scene when I was trying to climb the mini rock climbing wall in my flip flops, which attracted the attention of two Korean dudes nearby who were rooting for me quietly.. but "awww"-ed loudly when i fell half way up.
Now you know why I wish I had wore tennis shoes?!
But seriously, this park made me feel like I was 7 again. I didn't care I was wearing flip flops.. i wanted to climb everything!-- especially the gigantic steel train structure.
Went down the wiggly slide twice.. until I started feeling embarassed about getting in the way of little 4-year-olds.. and parents waiting at the bottom of the slide to catch them. Well.. and the bf also collided with a kid.
The locals were probably thinking... "stupid tourists".
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Ah Dennis the Menace Park, how you bring back so many good memories.
I used to go to this place all the time when I was a kid. I remember the snow cones, the train, the big silver slide that you couldn't go on when the sun was out, the bridge and that helicopter thing that I was always too chicken shit to go on. In summary, it all equaled fun. At least it did back in the day.
I went here with my aunt, sister and cousin not too long ago. Much to my dismay, most of the fun/dangerous playground equipment was replaced with more child-friendly and boring stuff, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. If I had kids of my own, I wouldn't want them playing on the original playground equipment. I'm amazed I've never suffered an injury when I was a kid.
I'm just incredibly sad that the big, silver slide is gone.
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Love this place... we used to come here all the time.. they have soo much to do here... cant wait til i have kids this will definatly be a spot they will come to regularly.... Bring your kids here, have a picinic and have fun!
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Yay! This park is great for kids of all ages!! including my very grown up kid of a husband!! Its soo cute to watch them play here! soo much to do I love the after park nap! soo great ... and totally FREE!!!!
Best park ever!!! This park had everything my 5 and 2 1/2 year old boys wanted...and more... Maze, Train to climb all over, tons of play stuff to climb on and sundial bridge...lots of slides...vast area to run around...amazing!!!
My (recently cemetary obsessed) 5 year old's favorite part is that it is across the street from the coolest cemetary he'd ever seen...of course that was our next stop - and admittedly it WAS rather beautiful.
As incredible as the aquarium in Monterey is, Little Q needed to run wild after five hours of fish, fish, fish. We Google-mapped the nearest playground, and stumbled upon Dennis the Menace Park. What an incredible find!
The backside of the park is visible from Del Monte Boulevard, and we thought it looked awesome just based upon the multiple play structures, bridges and slides we could see from there. We were completely blown away by the full-scale steam train that loomed over the parking lot.
This place is nirvana for kids - of all ages. Old-school playground tech, Yo. A de-commissioned train, complete with rivets, rough edges, and an 18-foot fall from the roof. How pre-litigious society playground design is that? Little Q didn't want to get out of the engineer's cab, he was so thrilled to be driving a real train.
The rest of the playground rules. Totally rules. Your kid, and the kid in you, will go crazy. And the place is huge, I can only imagine what incredible chaos it must be when it is near capacity.
There is a snack shack that serves cold drinks, candy, chips and an assortment of grilled foods. Cash only, so bring the scrill if you want some grill...or even a bottle of water.
Do yourself a favor and set aside some time on your next trip to Monterey to visit Dennis the Menace and let your kids run wild. You might even wind up burning off some steam yourself.
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I can only comment on going here at night....mind you walking in the cold. I'm here in Monterey and 'Belle decides to go walking....where we end up nobody knows. And go figure.....we end up right by a cemetery.
So, I have this semi fear of heights. And as luck would have it that there is a bridge that crosses this man made lake to get to the park. And when it rains it pours, because I'm goaded into walking on top of the handrail on that very same bridge - mind you the hand rail bordering the water and not the one bordering the street.......the water side is a lot higher up than the bridge side.
Anyways...I've always wanted to go to this park....I probably have but don't remember. I will however remember that night.....they have this old ass train in the park, a wall climbing thing, padded floors, and a lot of sand and slides and stuff. As you can imagine someone ran through there with particular wild abandon - like a force of nature and dragged me along for the ride. I still have sand in my pants.
Now I can say that I have been there and done that.
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This place is gold for young kids. Gold. Its free, its a public park, but yet so much more. It has swings, slides, a suspension bridge, a hedge maze, a rock wall, sand, and multiple playground fixtures.
I second Lizzy's review, this truly was the best park ever. And I have some standards, my childhood park had a huge concrete dragon statue.
I was kicking myself for being disabled at a park like this. I made it across the bridge with my crutches, but I wanted to go on EVERYTHING. Because the weather was literally perfect, we spent over an hour sitting on a park bench watching kids at the skate park. I was annoyed by a couple of obese kids just sitting around playing game boy in the middle of this mecca to childhood, but this place was so awesome I barely cared.
One bummer; they only have paddle boats, rather than row boats. We just feel cooler rowing a boat rather than peddling, don't ask me why. Had they had row boats, that would've made this place 6 out of 5 stars.
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I LOVE this place. I love going here and getting a snow cone and I also love renting one of the paddle boats to go around the lake. I wish they hadn't taken out the rolly slide though a few years ago.
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I have such fond memories of the slides at Dennis the Menace Park. Unfortunately, the last time I was here was to break away from my uncle and aunt's funeral across the street.
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awesome park. great fun for kids young and old.
So many great (and one tragic) memories. Definitely the best spot to kick it if you need to get that Peter Pan feeling again. The lion fountain is no longer there though, I think it finally broke down because I saw it for sale at the city dump. Oh and they are across the street from a cemetery (so much fun at night.)
They have a bush maze, baseball park, a train, big metal slides, tunnels, big man-made green lake that stinks in the summer, paddle boats, and a suspended wooden bridge. Seriously, they charge for this kind of fun in Sacramento (fairytale town.)
There was one sad story when I was a wee lad. There used to be this massive spiny-helicopter ride that you could climb in and hang on for dear life as someone down below spun the crap out of it (kind of like those tires swings at the park - I've got more stories on that too.) Anyway, the ride was overloaded and one kid on the end couldn't handle to negative g-forces and flew off and cracked his head open on the cement wall nearby. Ambulance came and took him to the hospital and the ride was shut down. It was a sad day because that was the funnest thing there.
If you can make it past the Goose poo land mines, you're going to have an awesome time. Take pictures.
Does anyone know if they still have gymnastics and dance in that building there?
Pretty cool playground for all ages. When you're a parent, you see them all and you need to search out new parks to add variety to your life. If you are ever in the Monterey area or are up for a drive, head down to Dennis the Menace Playground/Park near the Monterey Wharf.
It's a very uniquely designed playground with structures you don't see everywhere. It has a great train for climbing on (way beyond Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos). It has a huge suspension bridge, side-by-side wavy slides that are pretty fast!, and unique climbing structures, tunnels, mazes, etc.
The only cons: It is spread out and crowded and some of the structures seem kind of dangerous, so you can't just sit on a bench and let your kid run free. You pretty much need to be running after them the whole time. I've seen articles on when the park was first redone, and they have removed some of the more dangerous items.
I took my 6-yr-old here today and she had a blast. We also then went across the lake (El Estero Lake) and rented a paddle boat. It was only $10 for 30 minutes, which was all my legs could handle. :) A fun way to spend the day with your kids. Check it out.
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This place is amazing! My 2-year old was in heaven -- we couldn't get him to leave. There's a huge locomotive that the kids get to climb on, lots of cool slides, a big suspension bridge, climbing wall, etc etc. Pretty much the best park ever.
MOM: Look kids! (Pointing to statue of Dennis the Menace...squealing with delight) It's Dennis the Menace!!!
KIDS: Huh?!? (Three blanks looks, looking up at Mommy.)
MOM: Ya know...Dennis the Menace...Mr Wilson? Dennis who is always getting into trouble?
KIDS: Nope-never heard of him. He's not on Nickelodeon. Was he famous back in YOUR day?
MOM: (Pause...) Never mind...just go play...
*The kids ended up loving this place. We spent hours here even though it was lightly sprinkling...I ended up renting the Dennis movie and MADE them watch it.*
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this is a great park for adults and kids alike. if you are visiting monterey for the day and have a long car ride ahead, stop by this park and wear the little ones out. i'm sure they'll sleep all the way home with sweet dreams of the fun they just had.
this park is great for family gatherings.
take the paddle boats for a whirl around the pond for some added fun.
My kids love this park.
The full size climb anywhere on me train is the highlight. Big crazy bouncy bridge is up there too.
Gotta keep an eye on your kids on the weekend cuz this place is a zoo.
I remember coming here as a kid and loving it and now I'm passing the torch to my kids.
Yeah my kids don't really know who Dennis the Menace is either.
the lion water fountain was my life.
the old train was my life.
the huge (totally unsafe) aluminum-esque slide was my life.
the list is really endless.
probably the best "playground" i will ever encounter. nothing holds a candle to it.
i can go to this joint today being an adult, and still have a blast. that really says a lot.
did i mention that the lion water fountain was my life?
damn i love that thing.
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I've been to many parks this summer. But NON AS FUN AS THIS. if you missed out on your childhood, THIS REALLY MAKES UP FOR IT. a long bridge, a great double slide, a train to climb around, and a lion drinking fountain. So many great UNIQUE jungle gyms. It really fits the name of the park. I didnt want to leave when i came here. There is a baseball field, watering biking in boats, and a skate park. This place was a wonderful place to end the day before going home.
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Awe MAN! (I spell correctly!) I love this park! (The last time I went here was years ago though, at least 3.) They have two large metal slides--super fun, but be careful in the summer; if you wear shorts, your skin is likely to rip off. They also have a roller slide that makes a loud ruckus as you slide down--and a sun bridge that runs over the slide. There is a large suspension rope bridge, which is fun to rock on. They also have a stationary train you can climb on--good for kids with active imaginations. There is a maze made of bushes, and behind that they built a skate park. There are a lot of things to climb on...and fall off of. (But I suppose all these neat things have been removed for safety reasons. LAME.)
There was a large rocket ship-like thing that you could climb up, but I believe they removed that, maybe not. There was also this free rotating thing that you had to jump on from a cliff, but that is most definitely gone (good and scary times playing on that as a kid). There was also a ridiculously large tree that kids could climb on, but they sawed that down into a wood stature of Dennis the menace and his friends and his dog.
The best part was drinking unpurified/unfiltered water out of a lion's head. Down the road is a paddle boat place--also fun.
I used to play here on trips to the aquarium when i was a kid before we crammed back into the van and headed back down the coast to our friends' house where we were staying. Went back a few months ago and had a picnic with the GF on our return trip to the aquarium after moving here. Its a pretty awesome park.
This park is perfect to take your energetic 5-year-old after a long car trip. There's no better place where a kid can be a kid on the Monterey Peninsula. If you have young children,this is the perfect place for them to get their energy out.
This place is awesome for kids. Best park I've been too. Too bad there are so many teens here. They've got a cool train and a cool zipline ( i think that's what they call it). Highly recommend.
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This is that park you see as you follow the signs to the aquarium from Highway 1 through Monterey. It's totally worth a stop. We've discovered this is the best way to let the kids run off all that energy they've been saving up on the car ride to the aquarium. Packing a picnic and enjoying it at this park is also a great way to keep the cost of your day trip to a minimum, while controlling the amount of junk your kids eat and without them knowing any better. Be prepared to run around after little ones here because the park is big and there are no good vantage points from which to watch them at all times, and there are some structures too tall and dangerous for the little ones to climb. Restrooms are clean and concession stand has reasonably priced cold bottled water.
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I grew up running around this playground. Definitely one of the best of its kind. Love the train, Lion's mouth water fountain and the scary bridge that the big kids shake to scare the little kids. you know which one I'm talking about.
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Great place to go to kill some time. Really close to downtown and really fun for kids of all ages. HIGHLY recommend.
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childhood wasn't a childhood without dennis the menice park. i mean just the fact that the developers named it dennis the menice park is and was shear genius. this makes me wanna go back and re-live those years. i miss those sand box days.
post thought after reading a review----
did not know the creator himself of dennis the menice developed this park. this makes me feel that much more lucky.
its an unconditional love dennis the menice park,
BEST. PARK. EVER! We simply cannot go to Monterey without stopping to play. It's as much fun for adults (well, the FUN ONES, anyway) as it is for kids. A LION WATER FOUNTAIN???? I mean, c'mon!
Designed by the creator of Dennis the Menace, this park has all sorts of unique attractions. It has changed over the years, but the attractions that remain and the new ones are fun for all ages. Even my 12 year old son and his friends have fun climbing the various structures and skateboarding at the neighboring skate park. There are also paddle boats available for rent. The favorite attraction is the old train that the kids love to explore.
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-a few things stuck to my head during my 4 year or so stay here in the US when i was 3-7 years old: fast food chains, parks, sexual abuse by a relative-in-law (die!die!die! he's 104 and still going), being told i was adopted by my siblings cuz i was darkest and had the flatter nose, being a top reader in class, and having a crush on a white kid named matthew
-i remember this park being mentioned a lot growing up
-i remember the feel of the sand and of being happy
-i remember my parents taking us there and now i realized that was so nice of them to do that since it is quite a distance from where we lived
-been here with booger about 10 years ago and i remember having a blast and thinking back on how it's great being a child, no worries
-went back a few days ago and enjoyed every moment
-there's so much to get into at this park
-from the train, the bridges, the skate park, the softball field, the slides, the bars, the swings even have plastic coatings on the chains so you don't smell like rust or get rust on your hands and clothes!
-i enjoyed the rock climbing thingie....i am a monkey, love climbing things uhhu
-the view is gorgeous too, being next to a pond with geese and ducks, birds, etc. and a cemetery! i could so die here! and the beach is next street down!
-the bathrooms are pretty big and i loved the lion waterfountain
=I AM A SWINGER, SWING WITH ME
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This park brings back memories! I can still remember the days when my grandpa would bring me and some of the other grandkids to El Estero park. We would feed the ducks then head over to Dennis the Menace park and have some fun. That was over 30 years ago and this park continues to be a great place for kids of all ages. My two girls love this place as much as I do. I find myself transformed back to a little kid, going down the slides, playing on the swings and being terrified of going across the swinging bridge. Sure hope this park is still around when I have grandkids.
